My 30 Day Gratitude Challenge is wrapping up and I have spent time reflecting on how to ensure a grateful heart every day. I pulled out an old gratitude journal-the one Sarah Ban Breathnach had published years ago-and will keep it by my bed to continue writing down my gratitudes each day. The one extra step…the step of honoring that gratitude with action...is what I truly hope to take with me as a daily ritual. Not only reflecting on my gratitude but also doing the work of showing it has allowed the gratitude to make an imprint on my heart and soul.
Thursday, Nov 24th: Grateful for Thanksgiving! I have so much gratitude for this day to be with family. To honor this day, I treated my family to a Thanksgiving feast, made my home a "no-political" zone so we could enjoy each other, and also got to spend some time with my dear neighbor/friend and her family.
Friday, Nov 25th: Grateful for being able to spend time outdoors! To honor it, on this beautiful day, I took Rene for a long walk at a local park.
Saturday, Nov 26th: Grateful for patience! I honored my patience by using mindfulness and deep breathing when faced with a large crowd and small spaces at a local holiday market.
Sunday, Nov 27th: Grateful for light! At today's Mile Hi Church service, Rev. Shannon gave a talk on how light always shines in times of darkness. To honor it, I added a few more little strings of lights in my home and had those small lights shining in the evening.
Monday, Nov 28th: Grateful for discipline! To honor it, I steered myself back toward my daily routine after the detour of the holidays.
Tuesday, Nov 29th: Grateful for sleep! I got an entire nights rest and woke up naturally at 5:30am. To honor it I am using my energy to get things accomplished this morning rather than wait until later.
Wednesday, Nov 30th: Grateful for my health! To honor it today, I am doing a one day cleanse. Lots of warm water with ginger, lemon and small vegetarian meals throughout the day. Plus, some stretching and a good walk with Rene!
As we hover this day over the start of a new month, one of the darkest months of the year, I wish you experiences of gratitude that can be the beacon of light during the darkness.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, 2016. I have continued on my gratitude journey, and am discovering that thankfulness enters into my heart every day in some way. I am especially thankful for this holiday, where time slows a bit and allows family and friends to savor each other.
Thursday, Nov 17th: Grateful that Rene enjoys other dogs! I honored her easy going personality by having her good friend Ava over for the day. I can tell she likes the company.
Friday, Nov 18th: Grateful for feeling good, healthy and energized! I honored this day by using my energy to get things done, to spend with Rene, and to have good friends over for dinner.
Saturday, Nov 19th: Grateful for serendipity! To honor it, while working a craft show, I spent time with new friends, ran into a seasoned friend and met her husband for the first time, and networked with other women entrepreneurs.
Sunday, Nov 20th: Grateful for tapping into spontaneity, wonder and awe! To honor it, a friend and I were spontaneous, treated ourselves to brunch at Rioja and spent some time on Larimer Square, enjoying the feeling of the holiday season ramping up.
Monday, Nov 21st: Grateful for my courage! To honor it, I spoke up at my HOA board meeting and brought up issues that others may have deemed unimportant or uncomfortable to discuss.
Tuesday, Nov 22nd: Grateful for Facebook! To honor it, I had brunch with a dear "g-old" friend who I haven't seen in years and we reconnected with this social media technology. Our reunion held no awkward moments, rather we just picked up right where we left off!
Wednesday, Nov 23rd: Grateful to be off today! To honor it, I will make the most of the day, getting ready to host my family tomorrow.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and I wish it a day of peace, love, relaxation, good food, friends, family, and some pie!
My 30 Day Gratitude Challenge continues. I am finding the ritual of waking up and thinking about what to be grateful for that day, as well as how to honor it, has been an inspiring way to greet the day!
Thursday, Nov 10th: Grateful for my friends! To honor them, I called two friends who I hadn't spoken to in a while. I sent cards to four friends I have known since grade school/high school acknowledging my gratitude for their life long friendship.
Friday, Nov 11th: Grateful for active duty and veteran military service! Grateful for my freedom. To honor them/my freedom I posted a thank you on Facebook and acknowledged all the vets I have served as a hospice social worker.
Saturday, Nov 12th: Grateful for Soulful Transitions' customers! To honor them, at the Cook Park Artisan Market I threw in free earrings and cards for purchases to acknowledge my appreciation.
Sunday, Nov 13th: Grateful for my spiritual path! To honor it, I went to Mile Hi Church to engage in spiritual self-care.
Monday, Nov 14th: Grateful that I enjoy cooking! To me, homemade meals have been so healing and comforting during difficult times. To honor cooking, I went grocery shopping and made turkey tacos for dinner.
Tuesday, Nov 15th: Grateful for the gallery and store Bella Luna and all the people I have met through there! To honor it, I put a gratitude out on Facebook, thanking a neighbor and friend for introducing me to the owner of Bella Luna.
Wednesday, November 16th: Grateful for the beautiful weather of this fall! To honor it I took Rene on a longer than usual walk in a local park. I took off my headphones for a bit, enjoyed the distant moon over the silhouette of the mountains.
Last week was the start of my 30 day gratitude challenge! I must admit, I was feeling like I was trudging through last week just a bit. However, I found being present to gratitude lifted the fog I was feeling and made me feel alive and connected to my work, my community, my family and friends. Today, this day after the presidential election, I continue to reflect on gratitude as a way to remind myself to be ever present in the moment and to appreciate all the good things in my life.
Tuesday, Nov 1st: Grateful for my parents! To honor them I bought Duffeyrolls and made them breakfast as a surprise.
Wednesday, Nov 2nd: Grateful for Rene, my greyhound! To honor her I took her on a mid-day romp at the dog park with her dog friend Ava.
Thursday, Nov 3rd: Grateful for having known, loved, was loved by, and married to Mike! To honor him Rene and I took a trip to the cemetery and spent time at his grave.
Friday, Nov 4th: Grateful for "my voice"! To honor my voice I spoke up when I needed to and shared my feelings.
Saturday, Nov 5th: Grateful for my business Soulful Transitions! To honor it I was very "present" at the holiday market representing my business and connecting with many people, sharing my story and hearing their stories as well.
Sunday, Nov 6th: Grateful for my neighbor Mary! To honor her I gave her a thank you card, small chocolate piece and a grape ornament I had made.
Monday, Nov 7th: Grateful for my car! To honor it I gave it a well-deserved wash and vacuum.
Tuesday, Nov 8th: Grateful for being able to have a morning ritual! To honor it I made tea and sipped it in bed with Rene asleep by my side.
Wednesday, Nov 9th: Grateful for my brother! To honor him I mailed him a card telling him how much I appreciate him in my life.
This week, Wednesday Words is being posted one day earlier
as it is the beginning of the month and I wanted to invite you to a 30 Day
Gratitude Challenge! Starting today, and for each day of November, think about
one thing per day for which you are grateful. To
further challenge you, not only think about one thing a day for which you are grateful, but put gratitude for it into action that day. Here is my example:
Today I am grateful for my family who are loving and supportive. To show them my gratitude, I treated them to Duffeyrolls and breakfast as a surprise this morning.
I have created a Gratitude Calendar you can download and print off. At the top of each day write the one thing you are grateful for that day, and underneath it write what you did to acknowledge/honor it. At the end of the month you can look back and be reminded of all the good things in your life.
Why gratitude? Those of us who have experienced personal loss, struggle,
difficult change or transition have learned the hard way the positive impact of gratitude has on our lives, ability to cope, ability to have hope and encouragement for the future and being present in the moment for feelings of peace. When I counsel people after the loss of a loved one, they often ask me, What can I do to stop this pain? How long will this pain last? What can you tell me to feel better? In most cases, I wish I had a magic wand to wave it all away, or a big blanket of love to cover that person; however, much of our own healing comes from within. Being grateful and having a gratitude practice, where you actively acknowledge that for which you are grateful, allows you to be in the present moment and not stuck in fear for the future or regrets from the past. Why 30 days? I am not going to tell you that 30 days leads to new habits…that idea is challenged by experts and many say new habits take longer than that to form. However, I will anecdotally support the notion that a 30 day challenge has long term positive impacts. A 30 day challenge can give you something new to focus on, can bring awareness to things you may have forgotten about, or help you on the path to new practices and positive personal growth/change. Below, enjoy this short video by Matt Cutts from a 2011 TED Talk about 30 day challenges:
For the month of November, Wednesday Words will feature those things for which I am grateful and how I honored them each day. Whether you share yours with your friends and family or keep it private is up to you, but I hope you find the practice inspiring and that it will help lead you to feelings of peace and joy.
